Ari Came for Christmas

She got a day off, so she came to Mom’s house. It was a good thing. No one else could fit into the tiny room under the eaves where Mom put the old play kitchen other than Iris, and Iris was a bit timid to go in there all by herself. But Ari makes it a hobby to scrunch herself into small, cave-like spaces. I went caving with her exactly once. Don’t ask me why huge, empty spaces are called “cavernous.” Cavernous should refer to the type of space that exists between the back of the couch and the wall. The only reason I can think of why large, empty spaces might be called “cavernous” is because when you do actually get to a place where you can stand up in the average cave, it seems delightfully large.

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The space used to be on the cold side of the insulation and the pipes that are in the wall behind the play sink used to freeze every winter. I put up some 2×4’s in the cold space, added some pink insulation between them and then some foam insulation on the warm side. Heat from the adjoining room flows in through a narrow low doorway. The pipes no longer freeze. The space looked like it would be good for storage, but I didn’t want to damage the foam, so I caulked well and added scrap plywood. I also added an electrical outlet. The first thing I stored in there was a Creative Playthings kitchenette. It fit perfectly. Suddenly a kid’s secret shack was born. Iris, being my only grandchild, is the only one to have played in it. She calls it “the tiny house”.